Should I really send out 20 hand-written thank you cards?

[p-rog]

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I just got back from an interview for a fellowship program. Throughout the course of two days, I litterally had 20 one-on-one, 30 minute interviews with people from the school and the two companies I am applying for positions with. Should I really send out 20 hand written thank you cards for that? Or can I get by sending personalized cards to the directors/preceptors and emails to every one else?

 

[IndustryPharmD]

I just got back from an interview for a fellowship program. Throughout the course of two days, I litterally had 20 one-on-one, 30 minute interviews with people from the school and the two companies I am applying for positions with. Should I really send out 20 hand written thank you cards for that? Or can I get by sending personalized cards to the directors/preceptors and emails to every one else?

A couple years ago I would have said send the handwritten cards, but now I think e-mails are OK. E-mail is now accepted for almost everything, and corporate world pretty much lives by e-mail.

Though it's still nice to send hand-written cards to key people. If anything, it makes the recipients feel warm and fuzzy inside, and fudge factor is often the deciding factor (assuming no cadidate is a standout head and shoulders above the rest). 🙂

 

[Its Z]

A couple years ago I would have said send the handwritten cards, but now I think e-mails are OK. Though it's still nice to send hand-written cards to key people. If anything, it makes the recipients feel warm and fuzzy inside, and fudge factor is often the deciding factor (assuming no cadidate is a standout head and shoulders above the rest). 🙂

Except you would write the memo in 4 different languages.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Except you would write the memo in 4 different languages.

Five. 😉

Though back when I interviewed, I felt I couldn't say everything I wanted to say in that tiny card, so I typed up a letter which I signed and put inside the little cards, in which I only wrote something along the lines of "thank you for your time". Talk about an overkill... I was much more eager to please when I was younger. 😀 I am becoming more cynical as years go by and no one offers me a castle. 😀

 

[p-rog]

Five. 😉

Though back when I interviewed, I felt I couldn't say everything I wanted to say in that tiny card, so I typed up a letter which I signed and put inside the little cards, in which I only wrote something along the lines of "thank you for your time". Talk about an overkill... I was much more eager to please when I was younger. 😀 I am becoming more cynical as years go by and no one offers me a castle. 😀

hmmmm... now I think it might not be such a good idea to only send short thank you emails to the other interviewers, especially for the company I really liked.

Screw it, I'm just going to suck it up and write them all by hand. As much as it sucks, its not worth risking missing out on an awesome program.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

hmmmm... now I think it might not be such a good idea to only send short thank you emails to the other interviewers, especially for the company I really liked.

Screw it, I'm just going to suck it up and write them all by hand. As much as it sucks, its not worth risking missing out on an awesome program.

OK, now I get why my friends always try to keep me away from the young'uns saying I teach 'em bad things. 😀

To counterbalance my previous post, I shall now disclose that when interviewing for my current job, I have only sent e-mail thank yous to all interviewers including my current boss. 😀

Though as a pharmacy student who can't offer unique!rare!experience that the company needs, I would still hand-write notes. Doesn't have to be elaborate, a couple sentences will be enough. Just be sincere and not cheesy.

 

[p-rog]

Ugh, the other part of why this sucks is that my hand writing is atrocious and I always mess up the cards half through writing them! 🙁

 

[Praziquantel86]

On a somewhat related note, what actually goes on these things? I mean, how do you thank someone for asking you interview questions? Likewise with the residents at lunches...

 

[cycloketocaine]

On a somewhat related note, what actually goes on these things? I mean, how do you thank someone for asking you interview questions? Likewise with the residents at lunches...

Well, I was hoping it would be more conversational than just asking questions.....

Dear whoever,

Thank you for taking the time to ..........

and add something you talked about, something they cleared up for you, whatever. Make it personal.

 

[fullmetalphrm]

Well, I was hoping it would be more conversational than just asking questions.....

Dear whoever,

Thank you for taking the time to ..........

and add something you talked about, something they cleared up for you, whatever. Make it personal.

I always do this after job/school interviews and always make sure to mention some sort of topic or phrase that was said during our talk. It will really help jar their memory of you recalling it (since you can't say HEY I WAS THAT GUY WITH THE RED TIE), and you should this could make you fresher in their head when making decisions which can make you stand out amongst the others who are just a name on a list and a flash of a face.

But be sure to make it sincere, and actually be sincere, since if you send out a cheesy thank you they'll clearly see you're just 'brown nosing' or the like. I've always enjoyed talking to my interviewers so it's been easy to do thus far, but if someone really rubs me the wrong way (or I do to them) I won't shame us both by sending a silly email/letter.

So just read the situations and if you really enjoyed talking to someone and are indeed thankful for the opportunity make sure to let them know.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Ugh, the other part of why this sucks is that my hand writing is atrocious and I always mess up the cards half through writing them! 🙁

Even when you print? Most people have bad handwriting. As long as it is legible and letters are in line and not jumping all over, it should be OK.

Just take it slow and think it through before you start writing. I would also advise against using white-out, but I am not sure anyone remembers what white-out is anymore. 😀

 

[IndustryPharmD]

On a somewhat related note, what actually goes on these things? I mean, how do you thank someone for asking you interview questions? Likewise with the residents at lunches...

A good thank you note has three components:

1. Thank the interviewer for his/her time. January is busy enough without having to carve out time to read someone's application materials and then actually spend 30-60 minutes with them.

2. Highlight one key thing about you as an applicant. Either refer to it being discussed during the interview (in context) or, if by chance you forgot to mention something important, you can also mention in in the thank you note (hopefully you haven't, though).

3. Express your hope to be selected for the program/invited for the next round of interviews (whatever applies).

Plus, I would use the greeting of "Dear So-and-So" instead of something less formal (even if you choose to write an e-mail). Whether to use first name or Dr. So-and-So - depends on the tone of the interview and who the interviewer is.

As far as complimentary close, Sincerely yours is the safest option. If the interview was very warm in tone, I would use Cordially yours on occasion.

And don't overthink it. I don't know anyone who would pore over thank you notes or compare the notes from different candidates. Unless it is spectacularly bad, it will just get looked at and filed with the rest of the application or put somewhere on the interviewer's desk to be buried under piles of work-related papers in a few days. 🙂

PS The best deal is the boxes of 10 or 20 blank thank you notes. Very functional. And, unlike Christmas cards going to elderly family members, you can send the same ones to all interviewers, they won't get offended. 😀

 

[Praziquantel86]

A good thank you note has three components:

1. Thank the interviewer for his/her time. January is busy enough without having to carve out time to read someone's application materials and then actually spend 30-60 minutes with them.

2. Highlight one key thing about you as an applicant. Either refer to it being discussed during the interview (in context) or, if by chance you forgot to mention something important, you can also mention in in the thank you note (hopefully you haven't, though).

3. Express your hope to be selected for the program/invited for the next round of interviews (whatever applies).

Plus, I would use the greeting of "Dear So-and-So" instead of something less formal (even if you choose to write an e-mail). Whether to use first name or Dr. So-and-So - depends on the tone of the interview and who the interviewer is.

As far as complimentary close, Sincerely yours is the safest option. If the interview was very warm in tone, I would use Cordially yours on occasion.

And don't overthink it. I don't know anyone who would pore over thank you notes or compare the notes from different candidates. Unless it is spectacularly bad, it will just get looked at and filed with the rest of the application or put somewhere on the interviewer's desk to be buried under piles of work-related papers in a few days. 🙂

PS The best deal is the boxes of 10 or 20 blank thank you notes. Very functional. And, unlike Christmas cards going to elderly family members, you can send the same ones to all interviewers, they won't get offended. 😀

Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for. I'll be writing about 30 of them tomorrow, so at least I'll know what I'm doing.

 

[PharmDstudent]

A good thank you note has three components:

1. Thank the interviewer for his/her time. January is busy enough without having to carve out time to read someone's application materials and then actually spend 30-60 minutes with them.

2. Highlight one key thing about you as an applicant. Either refer to it being discussed during the interview (in context) or, if by chance you forgot to mention something important, you can also mention in in the thank you note (hopefully you haven't, though).

3. Express your hope to be selected for the program/invited for the next round of interviews (whatever applies).

Plus, I would use the greeting of "Dear So-and-So" instead of something less formal (even if you choose to write an e-mail). Whether to use first name or Dr. So-and-So - depends on the tone of the interview and who the interviewer is.

As far as complimentary close, Sincerely yours is the safest option. If the interview was very warm in tone, I would use Cordially yours on occasion.

And don't overthink it. I don't know anyone who would pore over thank you notes or compare the notes from different candidates. Unless it is spectacularly bad, it will just get looked at and filed with the rest of the application or put somewhere on the interviewer's desk to be buried under piles of work-related papers in a few days. 🙂

PS The best deal is the boxes of 10 or 20 blank thank you notes. Very functional. And, unlike Christmas cards going to elderly family members, you can send the same ones to all interviewers, they won't get offended. 😀

I always close with just "Sincerely". "Cordially yours" sounds like chocolate covered cherry bon bons.
Lol! I gave all of the techs at work a Christmas card with a little something in it, and no one complained about having the same card. 🙂-

 

[p-rog]

A good thank you note has three components:



2. Highlight one key thing about you as an applicant. Either refer to it being discussed during the interview (in context) or, if by chance you forgot to mention something important, you can also mention in in the thank you note (hopefully you haven't, though).

Thanks for all the advice! Number 2 is definitely hard to to do naturally though without making it sound like my letter of intent all over again. I've been leaving it out mostly, hopefully that won't come back to bite me in the ass.

 

[p-rog]

Even when you print? Most people have bad handwriting. As long as it is legible and letters are in line and not jumping all over, it should be OK.

Just take it slow and think it through before you start writing. I would also advise against using white-out, but I am not sure anyone remembers what white-out is anymore. 😀

Yep even when I print! Trust me, I have been so tempted to go buy some white out before, but so far I have resisted and just re-wrote the card. I average about 3 cards for every one that I can actually send out. Also I try to type it up in MS word first.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

I always close with just "Sincerely". "Cordially yours" sounds like chocolate covered cherry bon bons.

Speaking of chocolate covered cherries, Harry&David have some Bing cherries in dark chocolate that are just divine. I polished off the whole bag in three days. And I had to really work with myself to make it last that long. 😳

Lol! I gave all of the techs at work a Christmas card with a little something in it, and no one complained about having the same card. 🙂-

Co-workers and 80+ year old great-aunts are two very different things. Especially when one of these great-aunts is the last living relative (after her sister passed away) to bake the best Napoleon ever. 😉

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Thanks for all the advice! Number 2 is definitely hard to to do naturally though without making it sound like my letter of intent all over again. I've been leaving it out mostly, hopefully that won't come back to bite me in the ass.

It's not a required element, but it's your last chance to highlight something. 🙂 Not that many students who sent me a thank-you note (and that was about half the students I have interviewed over several years) incuded something like that, and I can' remember a particular correlation between that and how strong or weak a candidate they were...

Yep even when I print! Trust me, I have been so tempted to go buy some white out before, but so far I have resisted and just re-wrote the card. I average about 3 cards for every one that I can actually send out. Also I try to type it up in MS word first.

That's because schools don't teach proper handwriting anymore... not like what my parents tell me they had to go through. I can write in cursive (I sometimes feel I am the only person I know under the age of 50 or so who can), but I had to teach myself, pretty much.

But having to rewrite something two-three times... wow. I just can't image how that works. Even when you take it slow and try to write out every letter?

 

[p-rog]

I think I was supposed to be right handed and somehow just started writing left handed and never stopped. I still bat and golf right handed...

 

[owlegrad]

That's because schools don't teach proper handwriting anymore... not like what my parents tell me they had to go through. I can write in cursive (I sometimes feel I am the only person I know under the age of 50 or so who can), but I had to teach myself, pretty much.

I can write cursive too! I rarely do though, because it seems as though I might as well be writing in Latin. My school made us learn/use cursive, but it has been years sense I used that skill. I wonder if I could still write both the upper and lower case cursive alphabet? Last time I checked one of the letters had changed sense I learned it anyway. My handwriting is total crap anyway, I print for legibility sake.

 

[owlegrad]

I think I was supposed to be right handed and somehow just started writing left handed and never stopped. I still bat and golf right handed...

I used to be left handed, but my early teacher though that was "wrong" and taught me to be right handed. As we move to less and less handwritten work I wonder if people will even know which hand they are?

 

[p-rog]

It's not a required element, but it's your last chance to highlight something. 🙂 Not that many students who sent me a thank-you note (and that was about half the students I have interviewed over several years) incuded something like that, and I can' remember a particular correlation between that and how strong or weak a candidate they were...

I guess I just wouldn't even know what to say... the interviews were mostly laid back and conversational. I got the impression that they were just looking to see if we could get along if we worked together in the future. Only one person asked me about a special experience or skill to separate myself from other candidates.

 

[rxlea]

I learned cursive back in the 80's. I feel very old now that people are saying it is practically obsolete. I use it all the time. I can't believe they stopped teaching it in school! I am going to teach my kids cursive.

 

[p-rog]

....And they made me an offer today before any of those cards ever got to them. 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀